Ange Looks For Victory In Swansong

Ange Postecoglou takes Victory for the last time on Friday night. Image courtesy of Joe Castro/AAP

For the past season-and-a-bit, Ange Postecoglou has been putting his stamp on Melbourne Victory in the same way he did with Brisbane Roar , the team he led to back-to-back A-League grand final wins. He won’t quite get to see the fruits of his labour given this is the last match of his reign before taking over the national team, but it’s fitting Victory and Roar should face off in the gaffer’s last domestic clash for the time being.

Postecoglou brought two imports to Brisbane who made a massive impact. Thomas Broich will play against his former mentor on Friday night but striker Besart Berisha will miss the match with a hamstring injury. Coach Mike Mulvey has a couple of options with Brazilian Henrique – who scored after coming on for Berisha last week in the 4-0 win over Sydney FC – or in-form teenager Kwame Yeboah set to replace the Albanian.

Former Roar front man Kosta Barbarouses is likely to come in to Victory’s starting line-up in place of Connor Pain, while Gui Finkler is also a possible inclusion as he continues his recovery from a knee sustained last season. Melbourne has been a little ordinary to start the season but they came good last weekend with sizzling second half display to snatch a 2-2 draw with Adelaide United.

Brisbane is the only side with two wins from two starts to begin the new season. Roar has won four and drawn four of the teams’ last eight encounters, although all three matches played in Melbourne have finished with the points being shared.